Cambrai today is a lively city and, despite the past destruction, maintains a rich monumental heritage. Cambrai is affirmed as the urban centre of Cambrésis [fr]. Its economic life is strengthened by its position on the main local highway and river.

The town of Cambrai is located in the south of the Nord Department, of which it is chef-lieu of the arrondissement. It belongs to the dense network of the cities of the area which are separated by a few tens of kilometres: Douai is only 24 kilometres (15 mi), Valenciennes is 29 kilometres (18 mi), Arras is 36 kilometres (22 mi) and Saint-Quentin 37 kilometres (23 mi) as the crow flies. The regional capital of Lille is 52 kilometres (32 mi) away.

Cambrai is not very far from several European capitals: Brussels is 108 kilometres (67 mi), Paris is 160 kilometres (99 mi) and London is 280 kilometres (170 mi).[1]

The city was born and developed on the right bank of the Scheldt river. Locally known as the Escaut, the river has its source in the department of Aisne, which is barely any more than 20 kilometres (12 mi) away.

Cambrai is located on chalk bedrock of the Cretaceous period, which forms the northern boundary of the Paris Basin, between, to the east, the hills for Thiérache and Avesnois, the foothills of the Ardennes [fr], and northwest, the hills of Artois. It is at a point which is relatively lower than these two regions, called the "Cambrai threshold" or the "Bapaume threshold", which facilitates the passage between the south and the north: Bapaume (Artois) is 100 metres (330 ft) above sea level, Avesnes-sur-Helpe (Avesnois) is at 143 metres (469 ft) and Cambrai only 41 metres (135 ft). The Saint-Quentin canal, the Canal du Nord, the A1, A2 and A26 autoroutes all borrow all this passage between the basin of the Seine and the plains of the Nord department.

The chalky subsoil allowed, as in many medieval cities, the digging of a network of cellars, tunnels and quarries under the city. The poor quality of the Cambrai chalk was reserved for use in the manufacture of lime or filling, as well as common constructions. For prestigious buildings, stone from the nearby villages of Noyelles-sur-Escaut, Rumilly or Marcoing was used.[a 1]

The city is bordered in its western part, as well as to the north and the south, by the alluvial zones of the Scheldt Valley.

The Tower of Arquets (14th century) controlled the entry of the Scheldt in the city and the flood defences

Cambrai is built on the right bank of the Scheldt. The river, still of a very modest flow in Cambrai,[2] played a crucial role in the history of the city by providing multiple functions, including allowing the transportation of men and goods since antiquity. However, it was undeveloped and was crossed by numerous marshes. It was with the discovery of coal at Anzin in 1734 that the Scheldt was expanded and declared navigable in 1780, from Cambrai to the North Sea.[a 2] The Scheldt is today the Canal de l'Escaut downstream of Cambrai.

The Scheldt was also indispensable to many economic activities, such as the tanning, milling, the manufacture of salt and soap,[a 3] as well as for retting of linen, the weaving of which was one of the main activities of the city.[b 1]

Finally, the river was used in the Middle Ages and then by Vauban, for the defence of the city by the establishment of flood defensive areas.

Despite its important role in the history of the city, the Scheldt is little integrated into the present urban landscape.

Climate in this area has mild differences between highs and lows, and there is adequate rainfall year round. The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is "Cfb" (Marine West Coast Climate/Oceanic climate).[3] However, the city is about 110 kilometres (68 mi) from the nearest coast.[note 1]

Precipitation is distributed year-round, with highs in the spring and autumn, with February being the driest month. Contrasting with the rainy image of the region, the total annual precipitation is relatively small with 642 millimetres (25.3 in) at Cambrai-Épinoy; identical to the Montsouris Paris station, which is at the same altitude, it is less than those of Toulouse at 656 millimetres (25.8 in) or Nice at 767 millimetres (30.2 in). However, the number of days of rain (63 in Nice, 120 in Cambrai) confirms the oceanic character of the climate.

The mean thermal amplitude between the winter and summer does not exceed 15 °C. Although again establishing a comparison with Paris, that Cambrai is 1.5 to 2 °C colder over all combined seasons.[4] On average, there are 71 days of fog per year (Paris-Montsouris has 13) 15 days of storm (Paris-Montsouris has 19) and 20 days with snow (Paris-Montsouris has 15).

If comparing the data of Cambrai and those of towns such as Dunkirk or Boulogne,[5] there are colder minimum temperatures and a warmer maximum in Cambrai, the difference being approximately 2 °C, as well as a larger number of freezing days and less heavy precipitation: It's said a "transitional" oceanic climate, with some continental influences.

The temperature record in Cambrai is 38.2 °C (100.8 °F), which was established on 6 August 2003[6] (data collected since 1954 and record updated to 5 September 2013).

To facilitate access to the east of the Cambrésis [fr] from the A2 and A26 autoroutes, to alleviate traffic in the crossing of the city and to serve the future Niergnies business zone, a southern bypass was the subject of a declaration of public utility (DPU) on 22 April 1999. Its route has been repeatedly modified and challenged, because it crosses the urban ecological park of the Chenu Wood [fr] in Proville,[9] the only public natural green space of the Cambrésis. The bypass is in service since 17 September 2010.[10]

A bypass to the north is also part of the program of major departmental projects, which was required to have been initiated by 2011.[10]

The link to Douai and Lille has improved after the electrification of the single-track Douai to Cambrai line [fr] in 1993, for the commissioning of joining Paris to Cambrai by TGV via Douai, which was subsequently cancelled. Direct connections on weekdays are fifteen trains per day, with a journey time of about 30 minutes between Douai and Cambrai; eight trains, with a journey time often less than an hour, to Lille-Flandres station; ten trains, with a time of little more than 40 minutes on average to Valenciennes and a dozen trains, with a journey time of around 50 minutes, to Saint-Quentin.[11]

Cambrai is directly connected by rail to any European city, but links to Paris (Gare du Nord) are mediocre if compared to those of the neighbouring cities. Valenciennes, Douai and Arras are connected to Paris by TGV several times per day. Saint-Quentin is connected by TER or Intercités trains with less than two hours travel time. Cambrai was connected to Paris in 2010 by a single direct Intercités service of two hours, with a little-suited schedule for professional use. The times of other trains via Douai or Saint-Quentin vary between two and four and a half hours.[12]

As early as 1833 the municipal council sought passage of a railway line through Cambrai. However, a route through Arras and Douai, to Lille, with a branch to Valenciennes, was preferred in 1845. It remained, therefore, to connect Cambrai to this line, which was done in 1878 by a single, winding line between Cambrai and Douai. Meanwhile Cambrai had been linked, in 1858, to the Paris-Brussels line by a branch line from Busigny and joining Somain, near Douai.[b 2]

Other railway lines of local interest saw development in the 19th century, particularly in 1880 the Société des Chemin de Fer du Cambrésis which operated three routes in the Cambrésis between Cambrai, Caudry, Saint-Quentin, Le Cateau and Denain. An agricultural use of Cambrai to Marquion, now off line, was also open in 1898.[a 1]

The regional transport scheme evokes three axes or projects concerning Cambrai: Improving the Douai-Cambrai connections, the construction of a new railway line between Cambrai and Marquion-Arras, in conjunction with the large gauge Seine-North Europe canal project and the establishment of a business zone of Marquion, as well as "searching for a link from Orchies towards Cambrai".[13]

Moreover a river link between Paris and the Nord department had been projected as early as the time of Mazarin and Colbert. The construction of the Saint-Quentin canal, between Chauny on the Oise and Cambrai, was taken up in 1802 on the order of Napoleon I and completed in 1810, after the drilling of the Riqueval Tunnel. The canal and tunnel were opened with great pomp on 28 April 1810 by the Emperor and Empress Marie-Louise. The Saint-Quentin canal has experienced heavy traffic, but since 1966, the date of the opening of the Canal du Nord, it has lost much of its importance.

A wide-gauge river link project, called Seine-Escaut Link project is part of the 30 priority projects of the future trans-European transport network. The route of this project is through Marquion, 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) west of Cambrai. A platform of activities is planned therein. The commissioning of the canal could take place around 2015.[14]

Cambrai is in close proximity to two airfields: Cambrai-Epinoy, to the north-west, whose use was booked at the Airbase 103 [fr] until its closure in 2012, and Cambrai Niergnies, 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) to the southeast, opened to recreational aviation.

By 1897, that is, upon completion of the demolition of the fortifications, the city had considered the construction of electric tram lines. It was a very modern solution for the time, since electric traction only appeared in 1881 and the development of this mode of transport didn't truly occur until 1895 in Paris and the Paris region. In 1903, the network of the Compagnie des tramways de Cambrai [fr] was opened, 16 kilometres (9.9 mi)[b 3] and with five lines.[15] After World War I, the uneconomic network was not recommissioned.[a 4]

Since 1933 the agglomeration of Cambrai has been served by a network of buses [fr], five urban routes were operating in 2010, run by CFC (Railways of Cambrésis):

Since 7 January 2013, the agglomeration community of Cambrai has implemented a free shuttle which serves seventeen stops around the city.[16]

In 2008, the "Urban Transport Perimeter" (PTU) of Cambrai which, with 59,326 inhabitants, is the smallest of the twelve PTU of the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region had completed about 400,000 kilometres (250,000 mi) per year, corresponding to 740,000 journeys.[17]

The agglomeration community of Cambrai is the organising authority of urban transport. However, while it has twenty-three communes, only six were served by urban transport in 2006. For other towns and cities, the urban community has delegated jurisdiction to the department.[18]

In a relatively sparsely populated agglomeration with little extensive public transport, it cannot easily compete with the automobile. Nevertheless, the agglomeration community of Cambrai reflects on the future of urban transport from a perspective of sustainable development, with aims to strengthen the supply of public transport in order to capture a portion of travel by private car, and reducing car traffic and CO2 emissions. The realisation of the new multimodal transport hub in the quarter of the railway station of Cambrai is part of this policy.[19]

The old centre of Cambrai was established on a small rise overlooking, from the right bank, the marshy area of the Scheldt Valley. Indications suggest that a castrum was built at this location, although the scarcity of excavations at Cambrai in has provided no archaeological evidence.[b 4][c 2] With its area of 4.4 hectares (11 acres), the very modest castrum would've been much smaller than those of Boulogne at 13 hectares (32 acres) and Reims at 56 hectares (140 acres), for example.

Faubourgs were developed, at the time of the Merovingian prosperity, to the north and west of the primitive castrum, around the churches of Saint-Vaast and Saint-Aubert. The looting of the city by the Vikings in December 880 convinced the Bishop Dodilon to strengthen and expand fortifications: The new enclosure he built tripled the size of the city.[b 5] To the southeast, on a hillock called Mont-des-Bœufs, Bishop Gaugericus had founded an abbey in 595, originally dedicated to Saint Médard and Saint Loup, then, after the death of the founder, Gaugericus himself. This abbey was certainly also protected by an enclosure. The space which separated these two urban cores hosted markets and fairs.[b 6]

City map dating from 1649

Map of 1710

These two quarters were joined in the 11th century when Bishop Gérard I built the churches of Saint Nicolas and the Saint Sepulchre, southeast of the city and east of Mont-des-Bœufs. The town hall, the market, butcher and various bodies of craftsmen settled in this new urban space that Bishop Lietbert had protected by an earth rampart. Even today the Grand-place, the covered market, and a few names of streets (the Rue de Liniers, Rue des Rôtisseurs, Rue des Chaudronniers and Rue des Cordiers) recall this stage of urban development.[b 7]

The Bishop Gérard II later replaced the earth rampart with a stone wall with towers, gates and ditches and encompassed the entire built space. Therefore Cambrai had reached the perimeter it would retain until the 19th century: While other cities in the region such as Bruges, Ghent or Douai expanded their enclosures until the 14th century, that of Cambrai was redesigned and reinforced, but without affecting the outline.[b 8][d 1] The outline of this wall from the 11th century is still visible in the current boulevards.

It was probably under the episcopates of the bishops Gérard I, Liebert and Gérard II, in the 11th century, that was built the Château de Selles [fr], a fortress located on the edge of the Scheldt to the northwest of the city. In the 13th century, the Bishop Nicolas III de Fontaines ordered work to put it "on a good foot of defence".[20] This castle, owned by the bishop-counts, was intended as much to monitor the city as to ensure the defence. Its military role ended in the 16th century, when Charles V grabbed the city and ordered the construction, on Mont-des-Bœufs northeast of the town, of a citadel for which 800 houses were demolished along with the Abbey of Saint Gaugericus.[b 9] The Château de Selles was then used as a prison.

In the 19th century the city was cramped within its fortified walls, which limited its development and prohibited any urban planning.

“

Cambrai is one of the most inaccessible cities imaginable; its fortifications have a formidable appearance when it follows covered paths narrow and tortuous, crossing ditches filled by the Scheldt. Walls of extraordinary height enclose. The entrances, similar to tunnels, and barely sufficient for a car, lead to the city. All this overseen by a very daunting citadel built on top of Mont Saint-Géry.

The dismantling of the fortifications, requested by petition as early as 1862, was finally accepted by the State after a further 30 years.[b 10] The work lasted 6 years and transformed the appearance of the city by the construction of a belt of wide boulevards, the sale of new land to build, connecting the city to its suburbs and the establishment of public gardens.

Entry of the Scheldt into the city through the gate of Arquets (postcard from the early 20th century)

Cambrai is built on the edge of the wide marshy area of the Scheldt Valley encircling the western part of the city, the Château de Selles [fr] to the north at the gate of the Holy Sepulchre in the south: Wet gardens, ponds, meadows, ponds and marsh formed a flood zone sometimes also used for the defence of the city. The suburb of Cantimpré, linking the ancient heart to the Scheldt below to the west, had raised several metres.[a 6] The two arms of the Scheldt (Escaut), the Escautins, are separated before entering the medieval town: The Escauette and the Clicotiau, which bathed the walls of the old urban core. These streams were probably due to man's hand because they do not correspond to natural landforms. However, it is unknown whether their origin dates back to the Roman era or is from a later time.

Throughout the Middle Ages, and again in modern times, the Scheldt and its arms required constant work: Repair of levees, enhancement of pavement, straightening of the bed, as well as the digging of ditches to regulate the course of the river, prevent floods and ensure as far as possible a steady water level, on which the mills and tanneries depended. Despite these works, floods were frequent.[a 7] The absorption of rainwater and household water descending from the upper areas of the city was also a problem. Bouly spoke in 1842, in his History of Cambrai and le Cambrésis, of "fast torrents [stormwater] formed today by rolling up the Scheldt".[21] In the Middle Ages the "flow of el kayère" (or "flow of the chair"),[note 2] close to the current Grand-Place, was dug a reservoir for "water courses of the falling waters of the sky", i.e. to control the flow of rainwater. In the 19th century aqueducts were built to carry these waters, and the streets were paved. Furthermore, in 1926 a drainage sewer was built at Rue Blériot.

The draining of the wetlands that surround the town began in 1804. The work ended in 1951 with the drying of the small stream of Saint Benoît near the Liberty Stadium, itself built on this wetland which dominated the ancient city walls, and in 1953 with the covering of the Clicotiau.[a 3]

The centre of the city is completely razed and destroyed. So, you have free rein. Your duty is to remake a city pleasant, modern, retaining its character. Acting otherwise would be a crime for which you would be responsible to future generations. Your streets were narrow, twisty: Straighten them, adjust them, expand them. Your houses were awkward, obscure, unhealthy: Enforce in your specifications the requirementsfor hygiene, for ventilation, for lighting.

The Leprince-Ringuet plan was only partially achieved, but the streets were removed, others expanded, and new paths were created as the Avenue de la Victoire [Avenue of Victory].

Further destruction due to the Allied bombing of April–August 1944 again required a reconstruction. It was especially, in the years following World War II, to rehouse the victims and to cope with the expanding population. Priority was given to detached houses, and new quarters appeared, such as the "Martin-Martine" subdivision south-east of the city. In the 1980s the municipality worked to restore and develop the ancient heritage.

Cambrai had 16,256 housing units in 2007, of which 14,745 were occupied as primary residences.[22]

The proportion of individual housing is stronger than in the rest of the country (61.5% versus 56.8%). One can see both a regional tendency (73.9% of individual housing for Nord-Pas-de-Calais)[22] and as a consequence of the presence in Cambrai by the headquarters of the Maison Familiale group, a national developer of detached houses which was particularly active in the years 1960 to 1980. Due to the relatively small size of the city and the high proportion of detached houses, Cambrai has few "estates" where any social problems could be concentrated.

Primary residences dominate with 90.6%, versus 83% for the rest of the country, and one can especially note the very low proportion of secondary residences in Cambrai: 0.3% compared with 9.2% for the national average.[23]

A street of houses in the subdivision "Martin Martine" constructed by the Maison Familiale group, characteristic habitat of the years 1960-1970

Former habitat in the old Cambrai

The proportion of owners, at 46.4%, is lower than in the rest of the country (54.7%) or the region (55.1%). The tenants are much more numerous, 50.5% in Cambrai, against little more than 40% in the region and in France. Among rental housing, the proportion of HLM housing, at 19.2%, follows the regional trend of 20.4%, which is significantly higher than the national average of 16%.[23][note 3]

The age of the accommodation in Cambrai is distinguished from both regional and national averages. Housing is older, on average, in Cambrai than in the region or the country. The proportion of (pre-1949) "old" housing, is close to the regional average (40.6% at Cambrai against 39.9% for the region) but significantly higher than the French average of 32.9%. Meanwhile, dwellings built between 1949 and 1974 account for 42.9% of the total in Cambrai, significantly above the 31.5% of the region and 33% of the country. This proportion can probably be explained by the necessary reconstruction which followed the destruction of World War II, as well as programmes of Maison Familiale group homes, mentioned earlier, in the 1960s and 1970s. More recent housing is relatively less in the city than in the rest of France or even in the region: 11.8% of accommodation in Cambrai was built between 1975 and 1989, compared with 21.7% in the region and 23.7% in France; 4.6% have been built since 1990, compared with 6.8% in the Nord department and 10.4% in France.[22] This is probably a consequence of the less dynamic economy and population of the city in recent years.

Finally, the accommodation is slightly better equipped than in the rest of the region in Cambrai, but rather less well than the French average:[22] 3.8% have no bath or shower (2.3% in France, 4.7% in the region), 86.6% have central heating (78.2% in the region, 84.1% in France), and 4.3% have two bathrooms (4.4% in the region, 10% in France).

The agglomeration community seeks to improve the quality of the accommodation by various means: Encourage rehabilitation of vacant properties, expand available accommodation which is suitable for elderly or handicapped people, increase the supply of rentals and promote the construction of more energy efficient housing. The creation of 960 new social houses was provided over six years, from 2008 to 2014.[24]

The Urban social cohesion contract [fr] signed in 2007 with the city and the urban community was the first of the Nord department. Five quarters, not classified as "sensitive urban areas", are concerned: The old centre where old habitat remains, the l'Amérique and La Forêt estates, consisting primarily of multi-family housing, and the d'Esnes and de Guise estates dominated by single-family housing.[24]

The "docks and warehouses," Brownfield site of 5 hectares (12 acres) at the edge of the Saint-Quentin canal, the assignment of which has not yet been determined but which should essentially be devoted to recreation.[26]

The rehabilitation of the centre of the Martin-Martine quarter, and in particular the transformation of the green corridor which was originally reserved for an "urban expressway", never realised.[27]

The layout of the Place du 9-Octobre around the Church of Saint-Géry [Saint Gaugericus]

The redevelopment of the station quarter in the "exchange hub": A study on the development of the multimodal trade hub of Cambrai was launched in 2007 by the agglomeration community of Cambrai in partnership with the city, the Northern Department and the region, with purpose the station District redevelopment and improvement of intermodality.[28]

The relocation of the library to new premises.

The "modernisation" of the public garden.

On the other hand, the local urbanism plan [fr] revolves around eight themes: "Cambrai, an urban centre in the countryside", "Preserve and enhance the natural, rural and agricultural space", "Reclaim and restructure", "Render Cambrai fully in its urbanity", "Build upon the city of history", "Save and protect the environment, improve the quality of the living environment", "Ensuring economic and sustainable development", and also "Mastering travel or promoting changes in modes of transport".[29]

The location is attested as Camaracum in the 4th century in the Peutinger Table and Cameracum (no date). It recognises the Gallo-Roman suffix of Celtic origin -acum [fr] "place of", "property of", preceded by an element not identified with certainty. Albert Dauzat and Charles Rostaing[30] offered the Gallo-Roman type name of a person called Camarus.

This is also found in the anthroponym of Chambray (Eure) (Cambracus 1011, Cameragus to 1025). Variants Cambarius and Camarius would also explain Cambayrac, Chambry in Aine and the same in Seine-et-Marne, Chamery, Chémery, etc. François de Beaurepaire[31] notes that it may also be a pre-Latin camar or cambar theme. However, Xavier Delamarre[32] cited the personal name Cambarius, which he considers as based on the Gallic word cambo- "curve" (cf. old Irish camb, camm "curved", "bent" or "twisted"). Camarus would be a variant of this Gallic nickname meaning "that which is curved".

The Cambrai shape is Normanno-Picard with a hard "C", characteristic of the north of the Joret line and therefore corresponds to the form of Francien type Chambray. In addition, the name of the town was written Cambray until the French Revolution.

It is known under the name of Kamerijk in Dutch[33] and formerly Kamerich in German and Camberick/Cambrick in English.

Little is known with certainty of the beginnings of Cambrai. Camaracum or Camaraco, as it was known to the Romans, is mentioned for the first time on the Peutinger table in the middle of the 4th century. It became the main town of the Roman province of the Nervii, whose first Roman capital had been at Bagacum, present-day Bavay.

In the middle of the 4th-century, Frankish raids from the north threatened Bavay and led the Romans to build forts along the Cologne to Bavay to Cambrai road, and thence to Boulogne. Cambrai thus occupied an important strategic position. In the early 5th century the town had become the administrative centre of the Nervii in replacement of Bavay which was probably too exposed to the Franks' raids and perhaps too damaged.

Christianity arrived in the region at about the same time. A bishop of the Nervii by the name of Superior is mentioned in the middle of the 4th century, but nothing else is known about him.

In 430 the Salian Franks under the command of Clodio the Long-Haired took the town. In 509 Clovis undertook to unify the Frankish kingdoms[b 11] by getting rid of his relatives. One of them was Ragnachar, who ruled over a small kingdom from Cambrai.

Cambrai began to grow from a rural market into a real city during the Merovingian times, a long period of peace when the bishoprics of Arras and Cambrai were first unified (probably owing to the small number of clerics left at the time) and were later transferred to Cambrai, an administrative centre for the region. Successive bishops, including Gaugericus (in French Géry), founded abbeys and churches to host relics, which contributed powerfully to giving Cambrai both the appearance and functions of a city.[b 12]

Following the Treaty of Verdun, Cambrai found itself as a "median" border city of the kingdom of Lothair I with the western lands of Charles the Bald

The belfry of Cambrai, the old bell tower of the Church of Saint Martin, symbol of communal freedoms

In the Middle Ages the region around Cambrai, called Cambrésis, was a county. Rivalries between the count, who ruled the city and county, and the bishop, ceased when in 948 Otto I granted the bishop with temporal powers over the city.[b 13] In 1007, Emperor Henry II extended the bishop's temporal power to the territory surrounding Cambrai. The bishops then had both spiritual and temporal powers. This made Cambrai and Cambrésis a church principality, much like Liège, an independent state which was part of the Holy Roman Empire. The spiritual power of the bishop was exercised over a vast diocese, which stretched on the right bank of the Scheldt to Mons, Brussels and Antwerp.[35] In 953, the Magyars besieged Cambrai, which resisted all their attacks.[36]

In 958 one of the first communal uprisings in Europe occurred in Cambrai. The inhabitants rebelled against Bishop Bérenger's power and abuses. The rebellion was severely repressed, but the discontent flared up again in the 10th and 11th centuries. Between 1077 and 1215, the burghers had a charter franchise on at least four occasions. Each time, these were eventually withdrawn by the combined efforts of the bishops and emperors. In 1227, following another period of unrest, the burghers of Cambrai finally had to give up their charters and accept the bishop's authority. However, the Loi Godefroid promulgated by the bishop, in fact or in law, left the people a number of freedoms won in the management of communal affairs.[37]

Plan of Cambrai drawn in 1649, depicting the outline of the 11th century walls

In the Middle Ages the city grew richer and larger thanks to its weaving industry which produced woollen cloth, linen and cambric. Cambrai, and in particular the drapery, experienced an economic decline from the 15th century.[b 1] Cambrai then belonged to a commercial hansa of seventeen low country cities whose aim was to develop trade with the fairs in Champagne and Paris. By the 11th century the city walls had reached the circumference they would keep until the 19th century.

Cambrai has a distinguished musical history, particularly in the 15th century. The cathedral there, a musical center until the 17th century, had one of the most active musical establishments in the Low Countries; many composers of the Burgundian School either grew up and learned their craft there, or returned to teach. In 1428 Philippe de Luxembourg claimed that the cathedral was the finest in all of Christianity, for the fineness of its singing, its light, and the sweetness of its bells. Guillaume Dufay, the most famous European musician of the 15th century, studied at the cathedral from 1409 to 1412, and returned in 1439 after spending many years in Italy. Cambrai cathedral had other famous composers in the later 15th century: Johannes Tinctoris and Ockeghem went to Cambrai to study with Dufay.[b 14] Other composers included Nicolas Grenon, Alexander Agricola, and Jacob Obrecht. In the 16th century, Philippe de Monte, Johannes Lupi, and Jacobus de Kerle all worked there.

Even though the bishop tried to preserve the independence of his small state of Cambrésis, the task was not easy, wedged as the county was between its more powerful neighbours the counts of Flanders, of Hainaut and the kings of France, especially during the Hundred Years' War.
In 1339, in the early stages of the war, the English king Edward III laid siege to the city but eventually had to withdraw. By the 14th century the county was surrounded on all parts by Burgundy's possessions and John of Burgundy, an illegitimate son of John the Fearless, was made bishop. However what looked like an impending annexation of Cambrésis to the states of Burgundy was made impossible by the sudden death of Charles the Bold in 1477. Louis XI immediately seized the opportunity to take control of Cambrai, but left the city a year later.

Martin and Martine are two legendary characters who have come to represent the city which they are said to have saved. There are different versions of the story. The most commonly accepted version runs as follows: around the year 1370, at the time of Bishop Robert, Count of Geneva, Martin, a blacksmith of Moorish descent established in Cambrai, was among the burghers who left the city to fight the lord of Thun-Lévêque, who was then reputed to ransom the population around the city and generally to afflict the region. Martin, armed only with his heavy iron hammer, soon came face to face with the enemy. He dealt such a heavy blow on his opponent's head that, although the helmet of the lord did not break, because it was made of good steel, it was driven down to his eyes. Dazed and blinded, the lord of Thun quickly surrendered. Today the automatons of Martin and Martine, standing at the top of the town hall, strike the hours with a hammer as a reminder of that mighty blow.

In 1543 Cambrai was conquered by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, and annexed to his already vast possessions. He had the medieval monastery of Saint-Sépulchre demolished and a citadel built in its place.

In 1630, Richelieu, wishing to counter the power of the Emperor and Spain, renewed the alliance of France with the United Provinces. The main effort of France had to focus on the Spanish Netherlands, and a sharing plan was established with the Dutch, with France to receive the Hainaut, Cambrésis, Artois, a large part of Flanders and Luxembourg and the County of Namur.[38]War was declared against Spain in 1635: It was followed by a long series of wars which, compounded by subsistence and epidemics, caused crises which would bruise the Cambrésis.[b 15]

Mazarin tried unsuccessfully, in 1649, to seize the city which was being besieged by Henri de Lorraine-Harcourt and the Vicomte de Turenne. A Spanish regiment, which came from Bouchain succeeded in entering the city and the siege was lifted. In 1657, the Vicomte de Turenne captured Cambrai. Again 4,000 horsemen under the command of Condé, in the service of the Spain, manage to penetrate, and Turenne abandoned the city.[b 16]

In 1672, hostilities resumed against the Protestant Republic of the Netherlands and continued in the following years. In 1676, Louis XIV, in an effort to "safeguard the tranquility of his borders for ever" ("assurer à jamais le repos de ses frontières"), focused most of his efforts against Spain and occupied Condé and Bouchain. On 17 March 1677, the French troops stormed Valenciennes and moved toward Cambrai, the strongest place of the Netherlands,[b 17] which was reached on 20 March.[39] On 22 March, Louis XIV was in the city in person.[b 18] On 2 April, the French invested in a part of the place. By 5 April, the city surrendered, given the same benefits as Lille in 1667,[b 2] but the Spanish garrison took refuge in the citadel and the siege continued until 17 April. After 29 days of siege the king made his entry into the city, on 19 April, Easter Monday.[b 19] Louis XIV named the Marquis de Cesen as governor, and appointed 14 new aldermen while keeping the same provost [fr].

By the Treaty of Nijmegen of 1678, Spain had relinquished Cambrai, which has remained as a part of France, to this day.

French influence would transform the architecture and urbanism of the city. The gables of the houses on the street were blocked and the city was embellished with mansions. The fortifications were reinforced with advanced works. The first archbishop appointed by the king of France was François Fénelon. He came to be known as the "Swan of Cambrai" ("le cygne de Cambrai"), in opposition to his friend and rival Bossuet, the "eagle of Meaux" ("l'aigle de Meaux"), and he wrote his Maxims of the Saints while residing in the city. He had a relentless zeal to enlighten the faithful and to convert the unfaithful.

Most of the religious buildings of the city were demolished in that period: in 1797, the old cathedral, which had been dubbed the "wonder of the low countries", was sold to a merchant on 6 June 1796 who left only the tower,[d 2] after exploiting the cathedral as a stone quarry. The main tower was left standing until 1809, when it collapsed[d 3] in a storm. However the cathedral's archives have been preserved (they are now at the Archives Départementales du Nord in Lille) and a new cathedral was later provided.

The Franco-Prussian War of 1870 widely spared Cambrai. It also showed the futility of the fortifications which the city obtained permission to demolish, at its expense, in 1892.[b 20] The outer boulevards were constructed and off to the location of the walls, between 1894 and the beginning of the 20th century. The appearance of the city was radically transformed, and the works stimulated the city's economy.[b 21]

In 1914, the German army occupied the city: This occupation, which lasted for four years, was marked by scenes of looting, requisitions and arrests of hostages. From 20 November to 17 December 1917, the vicinity of the town of Cambrai was the theatre of the Battle of Cambrai, which saw the massive use of tanks for the first time.

In 1918, the Germans burned the city centre before leaving, destroying the city hall and the municipal archives. In total, more than 1,500 buildings were totally destroyed, of the 3,500 which consisted of Cambrai. The centre was to be rebuilt, a task which was entrusted to the architect Pierre Leprince-Ringuet [fr].[b 22][b 23]

From 27 April until 18 August 1944, 18 Allied air raids were directed against the railway tracks, killing 250 people and destroying 1,700 buildings,[b 24] or more than 50% of the city.[42] The first American tanks entered the city on 2 September.

After the war, the priority again was reconstruction. A municipality of the "union of the left" was elected in 1945, led by Raymond Gernez [fr] who would remain at the head of the city until 1981, promoting moderate Socialism.[b 25] As early as 1947, the city submitted to a development project of the Ministry of Reconstruction. The municipality gave priority to the construction of houses: The Maison du Cambrésis [House of le Cambrésis], later Maison Familiale group, an HLM cooperative society, contributed substantially to the reconstruction of the city.[b 26] The population of the city progressed, while the arrondissement tended to be depopulated. At the same time, the city lost industrial jobs and moved towards the tertiary sector, but it was public administrations which provided the bulk of jobs.[b 27]

Overall, voting in Cambrai is little different from the national vote, but the abstention rate is often higher: For example, it was 34.86% in the 2005 referendum (against 30.63%); 22.07% in the first round of the 2007 presidential election (compared with 16.23%) and 38.13% in the first round of the legislative elections of 2002 (compared to 35.58%).

Cambresiens voters seem also more cautious with regard to the European Union and the French in general: The referendum on the ratification of the Treaty on European Union of 1992 was rejected by 53.35%, while at the national level it was approved by a narrow majority of 51.04%. In 2005, the draft law on the ratification of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe was rejected more widely in Cambrai (59.8% of voted "No") than at the national level (54.67%).

In the legislative elections of 2007, François-Xavier Villain, the candidate related to the UMP and who was also the incumbent Mayor of Cambrai, achieved 57.42% in the first round (48.03% in the constituency). All the other candidates were below the national percentage of their party. For example, the Socialist Party achieved 22.91% against 24.73%, the Communist Party at 3.10% compared to 4.29% and the UDF at 6.21% against 7.61%. The decline of the National Front was also more marked in Cambrai (4.14%) than elsewhere (4.24%). One finds a situation close to the 2002 elections.[43]

Since 22 December 1992, Cambrai is the seat of the Agglomeration Community of Cambrai [fr] which includes 33 communes and approximately 68,000 inhabitants. The city also adheres to the following intercommunal structures:

The Intercommunal Association of Sanitation of the Cambrai Agglomeration (SIAC).

SIVU "Murs mitoyens" ["Adjoining Walls"], operational since 1 January 2006 and headquartered in Caudry, its mission is to educate the various planning authorities for the two cities.[46]

The Intercommunity Association of the energy of the Cambrésis (SIDEC), which is headquartered at Neuville-Saint-Rémy, brings together the 111 communes in the arrondissement. It concedes the management of the public service energy distribution to ERDF and manages the work of strengthening and concealment of networks.[47]

Since 1945, Cambrai has had three mayors. The city, after having constantly re-elected a Socialist mayor from the Liberation until 1977 in the person of Raymond Gernez, has since been administered by mayors from RPR or the related UMP: Jacques Legendre until 1992, then François-Xavier Villain. The latter was elected to the 18th constituency in Nord on 16 June 2002 and re-elected in 2007 and 2012.

In 2012, the commune had 32,847 inhabitants. The evolution of the number of inhabitants is known through the population censuses carried out in the town since 1793. From the 21st century, the communes with more than 10,000 inhabitants have a census take place every year as a result of a sample survey, unlike the other communes which have a real census every five years.[note 4][note 5]

Historical population

Year

Pop.

±%

1793

15,427

—

1800

13,799

−10.6%

1806

15,608

+13.1%

1821

15,851

+1.6%

1831

17,646

+11.3%

1836

17,848

+1.1%

1841

20,141

+12.8%

1846

20,648

+2.5%

1851

21,344

+3.4%

1856

21,405

+0.3%

Year

Pop.

±%

1861

22,557

+5.4%

1866

22,207

−1.6%

1872

22,897

+3.1%

1876

22,079

−3.6%

1881

23,448

+6.2%

1886

23,881

+1.8%

1891

24,122

+1.0%

1896

25,250

+4.7%

1901

26,586

+5.3%

1906

27,832

+4.7%

Year

Pop.

±%

1911

28,077

+0.9%

1921

26,023

−7.3%

1926

29,193

+12.2%

1931

28,542

−2.2%

1936

29,655

+3.9%

1946

26,129

−11.9%

1954

29,567

+13.2%

1962

32,897

+11.3%

1968

37,532

+14.1%

1975

39,049

+4.0%

Year

Pop.

±%

1982

35,272

−9.7%

1990

33,092

−6.2%

1999

33,738

+2.0%

2006

32,594

−3.4%

2007

32,296

−0.9%

2011

32,770

+1.5%

2012

32,847

+0.2%

2015

33,004

+0.5%

From 1962 to 1999: Population without double counting; for the years following: municipal population.Source: 1968, 1975, 1982, 1990 and 1999: INSEE (population without double counting)[54] Ldh/EHESS/Cassini until 1999[55] then INSEE from 2004[56]

The population of Cambrai increased little over the centuries: Estimated at 10,000 souls in the 15th century, it is, according to a memorandum of intendant who described it as "very diminished", at 12,000 in 1698.[b 28] At the end of the Revolution, in 1801, it was still only approximately 15,000 inhabitants.

It increased slowly but steadily throughout the 19th century with a net decline in the early 20th century: the birth rate, as everywhere else in France, declined. At the same time, infant mortality remained high (20.3% in 1900, 10.2% on the eve of the war),[b 29] which explains the low natural growth.

The population growth resumed at a rapid pace between the end of World War II and the beginning of the 1970s (the Trente Glorieuses), through natural increase (baby boomers and sharp decline of infant mortality) and the rural exodus, which slowly emptied the villages of Cambrésis of their population (partial) towards the town of Cambrai. This dynamism, however, showed however signs of stalling since 1968: in fact the progress of jobs (+27.5% from 1952 to 1975) did not follow that of the population (+44.2%).[b 30]

The curve was brutally reversed by the 1973 oil crisis. The city's population plummeted from the 1975 census, net migration which was largely positive in the 1960s became negative, while the natural balance, which remains positive, tends to shrink. Many traditional activities have disappeared (chocolate production, brewery, chicory, weaving, metallurgy, etc.), representing several thousand jobs.

The age structure of Cambrai at the census of 2007 was quite close to that of metropolitan France, and the Nord, with a greater deficit in the 0–14 years age group and to a lesser extent the age group of 30–44 years, a possible consequence of a negative migration balance.

The population distribution of Cambrai (active population aged 15 or more in employment) by socio-professional category [fr][62] showed an under-representation of managers and higher intellectual professionals (11.15%) with the French average (15.82%), in 2007, and vice versa slightly higher proportions of manual workers (25.47% compared with 23.08%), of employees (31,37% against 28.40%) and intermediate professionals [fr] (26,41% 24.76%). The percentage of farmers is naturally low in Cambrai (0.42%).

The distribution of the population over the age of 15 years, and not enrolled in study,[63] showed rates comparable to those of metropolitan France, in 2007, for level III and IV (Baccalauréat or Bac+2 years of study). However, it was behind the French average, and even the region, in relation to higher education (levels I and II).

The Nord-Pas-de-Calais region operates four high schools [fr]: Fénelon,[65] Paul-Duez[66] and the vocational Louise de Bettignies[67] and Louis-Blériot.[68] Cambrai also has a private institution, the ensemble of Saint-Luc, bringing together three former private schools merged in September 2009: Collège Jeanne d'Arc, Institution Notre Dame de Grace (college and high school of general and technological education) and the vocational high school La Sagresse.[69]

UVHC antenna prepares eleven diplomas, which include of DUT, IUP, Master Pro, professional licenses (including "Cultural Actions and Promotion of Heritage" and "Trades of Archaeology") and licenses.[70]

The branch of Lille-2 prepares to obtain a license "mention droit" or "mention economic and social administration", as well as three professional licenses: For management of small-medium businesses, for transportation of goods and for security professions.[71]

Finally, Catholic teaching. The whole of Saint Luc de Cambrai[69] was a centre of higher education (Sup'Sagesse) from Bac+1 to Bac+5: BTS optician, BTS insurance, NRC, MUC, AG and AM, two professional licenses ("Operational Marketing Manager" and "Contingency Insurance and Management of Goods") and finally a Professional Master of "Entrepreneurial Strategy and Management", opened to the entrepreneurs.

With nearly 500 students in alternation, learning or school track, Sup'Sagesse[69] is a real city centre campus, incorporating a boarding school.

On 15 August is the communal festival of Cambrai, and one of the highlights of the popular local life. This great festival (or Ducasse [fr]) extends for ten days in the Place de l'Hôtel de ville [City Hall Square]. The day of 15 August is punctuated by the traditional parade of the giants Martin and Martine [fr], symbols of the city, and a fireworks display. This festival, originally a procession which took place the day after Trinity Sunday, dates back to 1220. It was embellished over time with fireworks, banquets and cavalcades, and was regarded as one of the seven wonders of the Cambrésis [fr]. Over the centuries the festival has changed, reflecting the concerns of the contemporary: Since attachment to France it has been celebrated on 15 August, festival of the Assumption, in response to the wish of Louis XIII to devote the Kingdom to the Virgin; in 1790 it celebrated the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Fête de la Fédération; in 1802, with the signature of the concordat, the image of Our Lady of Grace was again carried in procession, reinforced by the bust of Fénelon. Under the First Empire it celebrated his Imperial Majesty Napoleon I. In the 19th century, finally, interests turned more to local life, and the progress of science and industry.[a 9]

Musically, the town of Cambrai receives two festivals. Firstly, the Juventus classical music festival. The Juventus association mark young talented European soloists. They are appointed, if they accept it, "Juventus Winners" during their first participation in a Juventus festival. Every summer the old and the new winners gather for a fortnight at the festival to prepare chamber music concerts in exceptional conditions. Juventus, established in 1991 at the Royal Saltworks at Arc-et-Senans, was set at Cambrai from 1998 with the help of the General Council of the department.[73] Meanwhile, BetiZFest [fr] is an alternative music festival, which has been organised since 2003. It is organised during the month of April. Les Féodales is a street show which represents the Middle Ages. The last edition took place in 2008.[74]

The Cambrai city hall is the national headquarters of the Union for the horse breed of the "Trait du Nord". The Trait du Nord national competition is traditionally held during the last weekend of July at the Palais des Grottes. Bringing together the elite of the breed, it ends on Sunday afternoon on the Place de l’hôtel de Ville with a grand parade, the most important festive presentation in France of a breed of draft horses.[75]

Medical density is quite good at Cambrai, when compared with the regional and national averages. In the agglomeration community there are 2.04 general practitioners per 1,000 inhabitants (Nord Pas-de-Calais region and metropolitan France 1.65), and 1.98 specialist doctors per 1,000 inhabitants (region: 1.39, metropolitan France: 1.74).[76]

The Saint-Julien hospital, which housed the poor and the sick, was founded in 1070. Today it remains as a chapel adjoining the municipal theatre. Over the following centuries, other hospitals were founded: The Saint-Lazare Hospital for lepers, the Charité Hospital, Saint-Jean Hospital, the Saint Jacques au Bois Hospital to welcome the pilgrims, the general hospice of La Charité founded in 1752 to accommodate the elderly, beggars and the marginalised.

After World War II the construction of a modern hospital was envisaged.

The Central Hospital of Cambrai[77] has a capacity of 770 beds and 108 seats. It employs a staff of 150 officers and has a non-medical staff of 1,200. Three annexe buildings are reserved for medium and long stay, maternity (1982) and Psychiatry (1983-1884) patients. A Nursing Training Institute was opened in 1967.

The work for the construction of the present site began in 1959, the installation of the patients being carried out between 1966 and 1968. In 2007, the work to modernise and expand the central hospital was undertaken.

The 2010 prize list of "the safest hospitals" places the Central Hospital of Cambrai as the 11th best in the national ranking.[78]

Cambrai has three private clinics: The Sainte-Marie Clinic, Saint-Roch clinic and the Cambrésis Clinic.

Facilities include six gymnasiums, two swimming pools, of which the Liberty Swimming Centre was rebuilt and reopened in 2008, the Arsenal de Balagny, which was built between 1581 and 1595, abandoned by the army in 1967 and then rehabilitated as a gym, a leisure centre, a hockey stadium, a rugby stadium and many football pitches, including the Liberty Stadium, home of AC Cambrai.[81]

Cambrai has a rowing club that goes under the name of Union Nautique de Cambrai. The club is regularly present to the Rowing French Championships. In the early 2000s, one of its feminine team members made it to the World Championships. Since then, the club has been in the phase of beginning a new cycle based on renewed team members, especially youngsters.
Every year, the club is home to the Regattas of Cambrai, during which clubs from Northern France gather for sprint-races on a 1000m distance.[82]

The game of billon [fr] is practiced traditionally in regions of Cambrai and Douai.

In 2010, the newspaper L'Equipe ranked Cambrai among the top five cities as the most sporty in France with more than 20,000 inhabitants, along with Lorient, Colmar, Antibes and Tarbes. The special prize of "Sport and Disability" was awarded to the city for its access to sport for people with disabilities.[85]

The La Voix du Nord regional daily publishes a local edition. The L'Observateur du Cambrésis is a weekly local news and announcements. The municipal newspaper Le Cambrésien is distributed in all the mailboxes of the city.[86]

Cambrai is part of the territory served by radio BLC, a community radio station whose programmes are broadcast from Caudry. The inhabitants of Cambrai also have, in addition to some national radio stations, the programmes of France Bleu Nord, Chérie FM Cambrai and RFM Nord.[87]

The city is covered by the programmes of France 3 Nord and the national DTT channels. It also received the regional channel of Wéo [fr]. Oxygen TV is a web TV channel "100% of Cambrai" devoted to local information.[88]

Cambrai is the seat of a Catholic archbishopric, suffragan of Lille since 29 March 2008. Until then, it was the opposite situation with the Archdiocese of Cambrai as the metropolitan archdiocese and Lille and Arras as its suffragans. The Archdiocese of Cambrai includes the arrondissements of Cambrai, Valenciennes and Avesnes-sur-Helpe. The deanery of Cambrai brings together 13 churches[89] grouped into two parishes:[90] Our Lady of Grace[91] and Saint Vaast-Saint Géry.[92]

Cambrai is the seat of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Cambrésis [fr]. In April 2007, it decided to merge with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Arras, a decision which was called into question on 4 October 2007, by the Ministry of Supervision of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry.[96]

As a result of the planned closure in 2012 Airbase 103 of Cambrai-Epinoy [fr], Cambrai and Cambrésis [fr] are classified from 1 January 2010 and until 31 December 2012 in the free zone "Zone of Defence Restructuring", allowing enterprises to create, settle or develop tax and social security exemptions.[97]

An example of the development of the food industry in the nineteenth century, the Escaudœuvres sugar factory, deemed the largest in Europe

As early as the Middle Ages, Cambrai was both an agricultural market for its region, which produces mainly cereals and wool, and a centre of weaving (sheets, woad, cloth, linen, chiffon). This dual role would persist for a long time. The drapery declined at the end of the 13th century but it was replaced by batiste, a speciality of the city, which experienced its greatest trend in the 17th century.[b 31] Production declined, in turn, in the following century, but in 1775 there were still 58,000 pieces of batiste marked to Cambrai.[b 32]

Economic activity declined under the First Empire due to the wars and the British blockade. In the 19th century the textile industry remained as the dominant activity of the city, with 2,546 workers, men, women and children, in 1848.[b 33] Batiste made the bulk of Cambrai's trade with other productions such as soap and refined sea salt. The food industry grew: Brasserie, chicory; the Bêtise de Cambrai was invented in 1850.[b 33]

In the 19th century the city was industrialised, especially when compared to its neighbours. Municipal officials often refused the installation of new factories, on behalf of sanitation or lack of space. The Central Sugar Factory of Cambrai [fr] was created in 1872, by Jules Linard[98] on the territory of the town of Escaudœuvres. However, according to the census of 1886, industry was supporting more than 9,000 people, while agriculture used only 2,000 at most. The city mainly developed its commercial function: At the beginning of the 20th century the branch of the Bank of France from Cambrai ranked 12th in France, before Nice and Toulouse.[b 34]

After the World War II reconstruction stimulated the building industry. New enterprises were created from 1950: Hosiery, mechanics and carpentry employed several thousand people, while traditional manufacturing was disappearing: Chicory, chocolate, brewery and weaving. The economic crisis, of the 1970s, seriously degraded the employment situation.

The Actipole Park, on the edge of the A2 autoroute 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) west of Cambrai, offers a total area of 97 hectares (240 acres). As it is completely occupied, it is being extended.

The zone of Fontaine-Notre-Dame, a kilometre from the A26 autoroute, offers a total area of 75 hectares (190 acres).

The zone of South Cambrai Proville, one kilometre to the south of Cambrai, on the RN 44 [fr], in the direction of Saint-Quentin, is devoted to the commercial areas over an area of 40 hectares (99 acres).

Logistics, benefitting from the situation of the commune of Cambrai in the heart of the triangle London–Paris–Benelux and the intersection of two motorways, tends to be concentrated in the western part of the agglomeration. Thus all of the 97 hectares (240 acres) of the Actipôle Raillencourt zone of activity located 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) west of Cambrai on the edge of the A2 autoroute are now used, partly by distribution undertakings, for a thousand jobs around. The extensions Actipole 2 and 3 are underway or study.

The future Seine-Scheldt link, the commissioning of which is scheduled for 2016,[101] is today one of the most promising elements of economic development to the city and the area of Cambrai. The multimodal platform of activities of Marquion, 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) west of Cambrai and on 156 hectares (390 acres), should be employed to host European logistics and distribution centres and agro-food industries.[102]

According to the results of the 2006 Census,[105] the economically active population aged 15 and over of the commune included 14,597 people, 18.4% were unemployed (France: 11.5%) and 81.6% were employed (France: 88.5%). Among the unemployed, most affected were "less than 20 years" (44.39%) and "20-24 years" (31.81%).

The distribution of jobs by sector of activity shows the predominant weight (more than 80%) of the tertiary sector. This distribution reflects the role which the administrative and commercial centre plays in the commune for the surrounding countryside.

The distribution of jobs by socio-professional categories shows under-representation of "executives and intellectual professions", and "farmers", as well as an over-representation of the "intermediary professions" and "employees".

A large part of the monumental heritage of Cambrai has disappeared over the centuries. It was firstly Charles V, in order to build a citadel at the Mont-des-Bœufs, who ordered the destruction of the Abbey Saint-Gery of Gothic style in 1543.

During the French Revolution all of the religious buildings of the town were sold as national property and destroyed, including the old cathedral. Only four churches, a converted attic, a hospital, a Temple of reason and a prison, were spared.

The dismantling of the fortifications, from 1894, led to the disappearance of many gates. Some have been preserved thanks to the interventions of the Society of Emulation of the city.

World War I was again responsible for significant destruction, the German army undermined and torched the city centre before retirement in September 1918: A total of 1,214 buildings are destroyed, including the city hall which was rebuilt in neoclassical style before the Revolution by the architects Jacques Denis Antoine and Nicolas-Henri Jardin.[a 10]

Finally at the end of World War II, in April 1944, and then again in May, July and until 11 August, Cambrai suffered Allied bombardments: A total of 55% of the buildings were heavily damaged and 13% were completely destroyed.

Despite this considerable destruction, the city kept an important monumental heritage. Cambrai has been classified as a City of Art and History since 1992, the first town of the Nord department to obtain this prestigious label.

The Our Lady of Grace Cathedral, completed in 1703 in the classical style of the time, replaced the admirable Gothic Cathedral from the 12th century after the Revolution of 1789. There is no trace on the present Place Fénelon of the former building. The apse contains the monumental tomb of Fénelon, a masterpiece of the sculptor David d'Angers, and the semitransepts with l'Icône Notre Dame de Grâce [the Icon of Our Lady of Grace] and the nine reputed grisailles by Geeraerts of Antwerp. The grand organs were built by the house of Pierre Schyven [fr] of Ixelles in 1897. After the events of World War I, extensive restoration was undertaken by the organ builder Auguste Convers, who brought the current instrument to 49 stops with 3,670 pipes. The building was classified in the inventory of Historic Monuments on 9 August 1906.[107]

The Grand Seminary Chapel [fr] most commonly called the College of the Jesuits' Chapel, completed in 1692, is a unique example of Baroque art in France, to the north of Paris. The chapel served as a prison to the nearby Revolutionary Court in 1794, and it was classified in the inventory of Historic Monuments on 30 April 1920.[108]

The Church of Saint-Géry [fr], a listed historical monument since 26 November 1919,[109] is one of the oldest monuments of Cambrai. It contains a remarkable choir screen in polychromatic marble carved by the Cambrai native Gaspard Marsy as well as La mise au tombeauu by Peter Paul Rubens dating from 1616. The grand organs built in 1867 by Merklin were the subject of a significant transformation in 1978. The current instrument has 41 stops. This church has been the subject of a restoration of the frontage and roofing over a period of four years (2011-2015).

The Citadel: Despite its dismantling in the 19th century, the Citadel of Charles V retained the counter-mine galleries which are today buried; the Royal gate and drawbridge, classified in the inventory of historical monuments on 14 April 1932,[112] flanked on the back of two guardhouses and an arsenal of the 16th century. Among subsequent developments, a powder magazine, housing for officers and a "bombproof" barracks of the 19th century are also noteworthy.

The Château de Selles [fr] is an old fortified château, which was built in the 11th century. Once isolated by the waters of the Scheldt, it has retained its towers and walls and especially buried ducts. The ducts include much graffiti which attests to the desperation of the prisoners, confined on the orders of the Count-Bishop.

Martin and Martine strike the hours in the bell tower of Cambrai's town hall

The Belfry of Cambrai [fr], formerly the bell tower of the Church of Saint-Martin. The monument, built in the 15th century, became a belfry of Cambrai in 1550. Classified in the inventory of historical monuments on 15 July 1965,[118] this building was inscribed by UNESCO, within a group of 23 in the north of France, as an extension of the 30 Belgian belfries inscribed in 1999 under the name of "Belfries of Flanders and Wallonia".[119]

The city hall, renovated in 1932, opens onto the Grand'Place by a majestic Greek-style façade, surmounted by a bell tower where two bronze bell ringers, giant and Moorish type, strike the hours on a big bell above the big clock: Martin and Martine [fr], the protectors of the city. The marriage hall contains a series of frescoes and can be visited on request.

The Hotel de Francqueville (18th century) houses the rich collections of the Museum of Cambrai [fr], considerably enlarged and renovated in 1994. The relief map of the city, as it was at the end of the 17th century, is the starting point for essential guided tours of the city.

The Maison Espagnole [Spanish House], headquarters of the Tourist Office, dates from 1595 and is the last house which is half-timbered and gabled on regional-style street. Oak sculptures (chimeras and caryatids) which adorned its façade in the 19th century are exposed on the first floor inside after undergoing a serious restoration. One can visit its medieval cellars. This building has been classified in the inventory of historical monuments on 31 August 1920.[120]

The covered market

The covered market, built after World War II, is home to lively Les Halles market days.

The subterranean space[a 1] which extends below the centre of the city, as in other medieval cities, was explored in the middle of the 19th century as well as to the end of the 20th century. Carved into the white chalk, they include galleries, Romanesque and Gothic vaulted rooms. There are also wells, niches for statues. These excavations have served as quarries for the extraction of materials of construction, as well as stone for lime: The "catiches" [fr] [underground quarries] are inverted funnels about 15 metres (49 ft) deep and 10–12 metres (33–39 ft) wide at the base. This underground space was also used, until 1944, for shelters and caches during sieges, invasion or bombing. Their dating is uncertain: It is not impossible that some of these excavations were carved during the Roman era, but it is likely that they were spaced out over a long period, according to the needs. Tours are organised by the tourist office.

The German military cemetery of the Route de Solesmes and Cambrai East Military Cemetery: The cemetery and the Route de Solesmes was created by the German army in March 1917. Occupied since 1914, Cambrai was an important centre of command, logistics and health for the occupant.[121] The cemetery was opened to accommodate the bodies of soldiers who died in hospitals in the city, including at the end of the Battle of Arras (April–May 1917) and the Battle of Cambrai (November–December 1917). The cemetery currently has 10,685 German graves, as well as those of 192 Russian prisoners of war and six Romanians.[122] Two spaces, forming the Cambrai East Military Cemetery, contain the graves of 501 soldiers of the British Imperial Army.[123]

The current public garden dates from the 19th century, which saw the creation of green spaces in the middle to encourage hygienics and which were liberated in addition to the areas occupied by the fortifications. This garden, divided into three distinct but contiguous parts, is located on the site of the old fortifications that surrounded the citadel built under Charles V:

The "caves" of the public garden

The "flower garden", designed by the landscape architect Jean-Pierre Barillet-Deschamps, was established between 1852 and 1865 on 6 hectares (15 acres). This garden was originally the only one planned but, at the insistence of the prefect of the time, it was increased to 9 hectares (22 acres) in 1864.[a 11]

The "Monstrelet Garden" designed "in English", was soon added to the previous. It is so called because it houses a statue of Enguerrand de Monstrelet, chronicler of the Middle Ages who was the Provost [fr] of Cambrai. In 1876, the bandstand was erected, built on the plans of André de Baralle.

The "garden of caves", built in the early 19th century, carries a total area of more than 15 hectares (37 acres). The "caves", decorated with a waterfall, were the main attraction and gave their name to this part of the garden. They were completed in 1906 and in 2010 are awaiting rehabilitation.

These gardens, and in particular their statues, were damaged by the two world wars. In 1972, a modern hall, named as the Palais des Grottes [Mansion of Caves] and hosting exhibitions, trade fairs and concerts, was built in the middle of the garden of the same name.

A few other squares or gardens complement the green spaces of Cambrai: Fenelon Square, established in 1861 to the designs of Barillet-Deschamps on the site of the ancient metropolis and decorated in 1864 with a water fountain, that of the Place Marcelin Berthelot, which dates from 1911. This is at the foot of the walls of the Château de Selles, dating from the same year. The one of the Arquets tower dates from 1954.[c 3] The avenues and boulevards planted with trees and flowers to complete make Cambrai a "green" city.

The theatre of Cambrai, between the National Conservatory of Music and Dramatic Art and the chapel of the old Saint-Julien Hospital

The Musée des beaux-arts of Cambrai [fr], opened in 1847 to present revolutionary seizures, has been installed since 1893 in a mansion of the 18th century, the Hotel de Francqueville. Renovated in 1994, it has three departments (archaeology, fine arts and heritage of Cambrai) on 4,300 square metres (46,000 sq ft) of which the most important is that of art. It presents Flemish and Dutch paintings from the 17th century and French artists of the 19th and 20th century. A recent donation also allowed it to present a collection of geometric abstractions of the second half of the 20th century.[125]

The Diocesan Museum of Sacred Art still officially retains its label "Musée de France" [fr],[note 6] although it was closed to the public in 1975. This private museum is managed by the diocese, which is looking for ways to reopen the collections to the public. The items of this collection may be the subject of loans for temporary exhibitions and include objects from the archaeological excavations of the city of Cambrai, architectural elements, sculpture, paintings, pieces of jewellery and liturgical ornaments.[126] This museum's history began in 1926 when Monseignor Chollet [fr], Archbishop of Cambrai, established a commission of religious history and sacred art aimed to inventory and preserve the archives and movable heritage of the diocese. Canon Cyrille Thelliez became secretary. In 1958, many religious objects from the diocese were gathered together and Thelliez founded the Diocesan Museum, the first religious art museum opened in France. The museum was installed in the former chapel of the Grand Seminary.[127]

The Théâtre de Cambrai was built in 1924 by the architect Pierre Leprince-Ringuet [fr], on the site of a chapel of the 16th century which was destroyed during World War I. The chapel had been abandoned for 25 years when its rehabilitation was undertaken in 1999. The renovated theatre was inaugurated in 2003. It is an Italian theatre of 700 seats which hosts various performances, including those of the Scènes mitoyennes [Adjoining Stages] association and the Juventus classical music festival [fr].

The Palais des grottes [Mansion of Caves] situated in the public garden, is a large multi-purpose hall with a capacity of 1,500 people and which can accommodate concerts, (including the BetiZFest [fr]), fairs or exhibitions. Its remarkable roof shape, formed of a hyperbolic paraboloid (or "saddle"), was built in 1974 by then-advanced techniques and demonstrates a concrete form of architecture in the 20th century.[a 12]

The media library is a classified municipal library:[128] It has an important old fonds, with 956 manuscripts, the oldest dating back to the 7th century, from the confiscations made during the revolutionary era to religious communities, very important in the city, and emigrants of the region. This fonds was subsequently enriched by gifts, bequests and purchases.[129] In 1975, it was one of the first institutions to adopt the title of "media library". It is divided into four services: Youth, adults, library and local history and old books.

Cambrai has a national school of music and dramatic arts[130] which obtained the Conservatoire à rayonnement départemental label in 2007.

The two best-known gastronomic specialties of Cambrai are the Andouillette de Cambrai [fr], a sausage traditionally made of ground veal (which is now prohibited by European regulations), whose associated gastronomic society is one of the most representative in the region, and the Bêtise de Cambrai, a coated mint confection which is one of the most emblematic gourmet specialties of France.

The first known arms appear on a seal from 1340. They represented an eagle holding in its talons the arms of le Cambrésis, "of Or three Lion Cubs of azure". Under the Spanish domination these arms were slightly modified, the double-headed eagle of the Holy Roman Empire became an honourable figure[note 7] and arms of the Cambrésis being removed. The coat of arms thus means "Cambrai city of the empire and capital of the Cambrésis".[131]

The eagle is usually surmounted with the ducal crown, the city having been elevated to a Duchy in 1510. In 1815 Cambrai received from Louis XVIII the right again to its ancient arms. In 1919, it was awarded the cross of the Legion of Honour, and in 1945 the Croix de Guerre.

On the front of the Chamber of Commerce (shown adjoining), built after the World War I, the arms are surmounted by the Ducal Crown, framed by the giants Martin and Martine [fr], and increased by the cross of the Legion of Honour.

The logo of the city is a stylisation of the steeples of the cathedral, the Saint-Géry Church and belfry [fr], a visual signature of the city, visible from afar. Locally, Cambrai is known as "the city of three spires".

From the late 19th century, two military units were stationed at Cambrai. The 1st Infantry Regiment was quartered at Cambrai from 1870 to 1914, when it left for Belgium, before returning in 1919. It was split between the citadel and the Renel barracks. In 1940 it was again sent to Belgium, before being dissolved in 1942 in the free zone and did not return to Cambrai. The 4th Cuirassier Regiment [fr] arrived in Cambrai in 1889 and is the Mortier quarter. This regiment was dissolved at the end of World War I. After World War II the Mortier quarter was assigned to the Selection Centre No. 2, today disbanded.

Until 2012, the Airbase 103 [fr] "René Mouchotte" was near the city, founded in 1953 and which hosted the 01.012 Fighter Squadron "Cambrésis" created in 1952, the 02.012 "Picardy" and the 03.012 "Cornouailles" [Cornwall], as well as a ground-to-air defence squadron.

Cambrai is a small, quiet and sleepy city of Artois (sic), to the name of which is attached many historical memories. Narrow and antiquated alleys run like a maze around the huge city hall, doors eaten away by the centuries and many churches, the largest of which saw Fénelon preach. Heavy steeples stand amongst a jumble of pointed gables. Broad avenues lead to a well-kept public garden, which is adorned with a monument to Louis Blériot.

The inhabitants are peaceful and cordial people, who lead in their big houses, simple in appearance, but richly furnished, with a life of wellbeing. The small city has been rightfully nicknamed "the city of millionaires" because, just before the war, there were forty of these Croesus-like people.

The Great War tore this hole of the province in its sleep of Sleeping Beauty and the gigantic turn of home struggles...

The streets of Cambrai served as a backgrop to Sang noir [Black Blood], a 90-minute fiction filmed from 7 March to 6 April 2006 through Production of France 3 Lille, based on the novel of the same name by Louis Guilloux which takes place in 1917 in a small town, far from the Western Front.

In 2007, the construction of the bypass of Cambrai was used for the filming of the movie In the Beginning by Xavier Giannoli. Some scenes of the film Présumé coupable [Presumed Guilty], by Vincent Garenq, were shot at Cambrai in April 2010.

^At the beginning of the 21st century, the terms of census have been amended by Act No. 2002-276 of 27 February 2002, called "grassroots democracy law" on the democracy of proximity and in particular Title V "of census operations", in order, after a power transition period from 2004 to 2008, the annual publication of the legal population of the different French administrative districts. For municipalities with populations greater than 10,000 inhabitants, a sample survey is carried out annually, the entire territory of these municipalities is included at the end of the same period of five years. The first post-legal population from 1999, and fitting in the new system which came into force on 1 January 2009, is the census of 2006.

^In the census table, by Wikipedia convention, the principle was retained for subsequent legal populations since 1999 not to display the census populations in the table corresponding to the year 2006, the first published legal population calculated according to the concepts defined in Decree No. 2003-485 of 5 June 2003, and the years corresponding to an exhaustive census survey for municipalities with less than 10,000 inhabitants, and the years 2006, 2011, 2016, etc. For municipalities with more than 10,000, the latest legal population is published by INSEE for all municipalities.

Nord-Pas-de-Calais

Nord-Pas-de-Calais (French pronunciation: [nɔʁ pɑ d kalɛ], is a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it is part of the new region Hauts-de-France. It consisted of the departments of Nord and Pas-de-Calais. Nord-Pas-de-Calais borders the English Channel, the North Sea, Belgium and Picardy. The majority of the region was once part of the historical Netherlands, but gradually became part of France between 1477 and 1678, particularly during the reign of king Louis XIV. The historical French provinces that preceded Nord-Pas-de-Calais are Artois, French Flanders, French Hainaut and Picardy. These provincial designations are still frequently used by the inhabitants.

Lille

Lille is a city at the northern tip of France, in French Flanders. On the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the Nord department, and the main city of the European Metropolis of Lille.

Arras

Arras is the capital (chef-lieu/préfecture) of the Pas-de-Calais department, which forms part of the region of Hauts-de-France; prior to the reorganization of 2014 it was located in Nord-Pas-de-Calais. The historic centre of the Artois region, with a Baroque town square, Arras is located in Northern France at the confluence of the Scarpe river and the Crinchon River.

Deûle

The Deûle is a river of northern France which is channeled for the main part of its course. The upstream part is still partly free-flowing and is known as the Souchez. The Deûle flows into the Lys in Deûlémont.

Lille University of Science and Technology

The Lille 1 University of Science and Technology was a French university located on a dedicated main campus in Villeneuve d'Ascq, near Lille, with 20,000 full-time students plus 14,500 students in continuing education (2004). 1,310 permanent faculty members plus 1,200 staff and around 140 CNRS researchers work there in the different University Lille 1 institutes and 43 research labs. University Lille 1 was a member of the European Doctoral College Lille Nord de France, which produces 400 doctorate dissertations every year. The university is ranked in the world top 200 universities in mathematics by the Shanghai ranking.

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cambrai

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cambrai is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France, comprising the arrondissements of Avesnes-sur-Helpe, Cambrai, Douai, and Valenciennes within the département of Nord, in the region of Nord-Pas-de-Calais. The current archbishop is Vincent Dollmann, appointed in December 2000. Since 2002 the archdiocese has been a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Lille, returning to the prior arrangement.

Saint-Souplet

Polytechnic University of Hauts-de-France

The Polytechnic University of Hauts-de-France, previously known as University of Valenciennes and Hainaut-Cambrésis until 1 January 2018, is a French public university, based in Valenciennes. It is under the Academy of Lille and is a member of the European Doctoral College Lille-Nord-Pas de Calais and of the Community of Universities and Institutions (COMUE) Lille Nord de France. On a national scale, in terms of graduate's employability, the university ranks from 1st to 68th out of 69 universities. In the field of legal training, economics and management, 99% of the university's graduates are employed. Overall, the University is ranked 28th out of 73 universities in France.

Aniche

Aniche is a commune in the Nord department in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France.

Saint-Python

Saint-Python is a commune in the Nord department in northern France named after Piatus of Tournai (Saint-Piat). Its inhabitants are called the 'Saint-Piatiens'. They can also be referred to as 'Piatonnais'.

University of Lille Nord de France

The Community of Universities and Institutions (COMUE) Lille Nord de France is a French Groups of Universities and Institutions (COMUE) spread over multiple campuses and centered in Lille. It includes a European Doctoral College and federates universities, engineering schools and research centers. With more than one hundred thousand students, it is one of the largest university federations in France. The University of Lille, with nearly 70,000 students, is the main component.

Gare de Douai

Douai is a railway station serving the town of Douai, Nord, France. The station opened in 1846 and is located on the Paris–Lille railway and Douai–Valenciennes railway. The train services are operated by SNCF.

Paris–Lille railway

The railway from Paris to Lille is an important French 251-kilometre long railway line, that connects Paris to the northern French city Lille. Branch lines offer connections to Belgium and Great Britain. As one of the first railway lines in France, it was opened on 20 June 1846. The opening of the LGV Nord high speed line from Paris to Lille in 1993 has decreased its importance for passenger traffic.

Hippolyte Bis

Hippolyte Louis Florent Bis, was an early 19th-century French playwright and librettist. He is mostly known for the libretto to Giachino Rossini's opera William Tell, which he wrote with Étienne de Jouy.

Hauts-de-France

Hauts-de-France, is a region of France created by the territorial reform of French Regions in 2014, from a merger of Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardy. Its capital is Lille. The new region came into existence on 1 January 2016, after the regional elections in December 2015. France's Conseil d'État approved Hauts-de-France as the name of the region on 28 September 2016, effective 30 September 2016.

Mulquinerie

Mulquinerie, a landmark of French sartorial heritage and high craftsmanship, is the art of weaving and trading fine fabrics composed exclusively of linen: whether plain flax cloth, 'linon' or batiste. A 'mulquinier' was the artisan textile designer and weaver as well as the merchant of canvases. The mulquiniers were not only a subcategorization of the tisserand(e) artists (hand loom weavers; French pronunciation: [tisʀɑ̃]) but were also the traders of their own craft. This activity was predominantly developed within villages as a substantial rural proto-industry, hence mulquiniers working on métiers à tisser in their home' basement while breathing from "bahottes" or "blocures" to obtain the most propitious humidity levels.

Institution Saint-Michel

Institution Saint Michel: Collège and Lycée is a Catholic Secondary School with boarding facilities located in Solesmes (Picard: Solinmes), France. Founded in 1924 by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cambrai constituted in 580, it is now also contractually regulated by the Academy of Lille, a ramification of the French Ministry of National Education, Higher Education and Research. As of 2018, it welcomes within centuries-old châteauesque edifices around a thousand students from nearly a hundred municipalities within a radius extending twenty kilometers.